New York Mets Had No Choice But to Place Scott Atchison on Disabled List

By Michael Terrill

Brad Barr-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Mets placedreliever Scott Atchison on the 15-day disabled list one day after he was removed from Monday’s contest with numbness in his pitching hand. The right-hander gave the Mets no choice as it was the best decision for the team to make considering the circumstance.

Atchison stated that he could not feel his fingers, but entered the game in the seventh inning against the St. Louis Cardinals anyways. He surrendered a home run to Matt Holliday along with two hits after that before he was relieved by Greg Burke without recording an out.

“Probably not the smartest move,” Atchison said regarding his decision to enter the game on Monday, according to Mets.com. “But I kind of know what’s going on in my elbow, so in my mind, it’s ‘How much can I handle right there?’ I wasn’t in agonizing pain, but I wasn’t able to make the pitches that I wanted to make.”

Atchison has been dealing with a torn ligament in his elbow for years, but he has been able to keep the pain at bay enough where he can still pitch. Every now and then the numbness will come back, but in his opinion, it has never been enough where he should undergo Tommy John surgery.

In reality, Tommy John surgery is exactly what Atchison needs to fix the problem. However, at 37 years old the operation would theoretically end his career.

Even though the six-year veteran’s tests came back negative on structural damage, it does not appear that the inflammation is going to calm down anytime soon. Therefore, the most logical choice is to place Atchison on the disabled list and hope that some time off will help heal the elbow.

Atchison has posted a 3.56 earned run average with six strikeouts in 18 innings this season.